Ashley Gardini"The Asian American History of Silicon Valley Shopping Malls" via JSTOR Daily
#Architecture #Malls #AsianAmerican #JSTOR #ArchitecturalHistory #Archidon
post-punked@AshleyGardini Oakridge is close in my upbringing. Valley Fair I do not recognize. I think Banana Republic & Nordstrom's, not Milan Fashion Week.
@postpunky I grew up on the peninsula, so I never went to those malls when I was younger. Serramonte, Tanforan, and Hillsdale were in regular rotation.
@AshleyGardini Heard of all three, #Tanforan I remember probably for its convenient location (I've traveled between Santa Clara & Sonoma counties most of my life with varying frequency). It's interesting to me how malls have changed in spite of Internet shopping.
Consumer attitudes have changed. China used to be less of a factory. Big box stores were department stores. Malls were more social meeting points & recreation than they seem today for young people, maybe for better if they've figured it out.
@postpunky Serramonte is still pretty great! It's definitely got a community hangout vibe, which is nice, and isn't plagued by constantly closing stores.
The building type totally interests me too. I actually make a point of popping into malls when I'm traveling. If you're interested, there's a good book on the history of malls, "Meet Me By the Fountain" by Alexandra Lange. I listened to the audio version.
@AshleyGardini Ok. I'm interested in meaningful positive social connects especially this regional benefit we have being on the same server.
Architecture to me is like cars. Foremost is function, where if good the average person might not notice so much, kind of like a drummer being the background/foundation of a song but not the hook or lyrical message.
But the other factor, like a car, is structures are so BIG that if we design them wrongly or lacking aesthetics the mistake is a significant persistent bane & missed opportunity in our lives that is not easily corrected.
@AshleyGardini I was at Westgate a lot when I was really young, but what I miss most are the Wine & Arts festivals at the outdoor mall, El Paseo de Saratoga.
Later it was #ThePruneyard in Campbell but I don't remember events there. I learned how to play #chess at The Pruneyard with an old man in a big wicker chair in a cafe called The Upstart Crow. Woz posted he shops there sometimes, right around the corner from an ex- #Apple site & #eBay (I remember before both existed).
I don't know how outdoor malls affect economics, but they look better to me architecturally, single story Spanish tile roofs if I remember. They're definitely better for outdoor events.
These days I only but imported wine though I live in the wine country.